


It's Christmas Time

by Koberoo



Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Gen, and its depressing, dont @ me, like whatever cole and zane just talk to each other about christmas, seasonal depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:10:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koberoo/pseuds/Koberoo
Summary: Cole notices that Zane is secluding himself away,so they go for a walk.





	It's Christmas Time

This time of year was always rough for Zane. Everyone seemed happier, relieved that at the end of the year they could relax and spend time with family. He only felt a stiffness that the cold brought with it, his metal body was more brittle, his processing slower. He tried not to ruminate on it, he tried to manufacture a kind of Christmas cheer, to replicate the lightness that they other ninja had. 

 

Cole offered to go on a walk with Zane, he said it was too close in the house. Zane obliged, not quite concealing his true feelings. No one thought that the ice ninja might not like the cold. He could tolerate it, and it was certainly better than scalding hotness of summer, something that might make his processors overheat. But as pretty as snow was in concept, it was still just water on the ground. 

“You seem down, lately.” Cole spoke up after a while.

“Do I?” Zane turned to him to read his expression, but as usual he was stoic. 

“You seem… far away. Is it because of your father?” Cole offered an arm, and Zane held onto it. 

“Maybe, it’s hard to say. I think I just don’t like this time of year so much. It makes me feel…” He didn’t want to admit it. He had so much to be happy about, so many people who cared about him. But when he studied himself, really dug into what he was, he always come to the same conclusion: a cold machine. Not human, no family, not like others had. No profound blood bond, how could he have that? He didn’t even have blood. 

“Lonely?” 

Zane raised an eyebrow. They stopped walking. 

“Yes,” Neither of them seemed to know what to do with this information. So, they kept walking. It had snowed a few days prior, so the period in which the snow looked appealing was closing. Everything looked grey. They had gone north for the holidays, staying at someone’s relative’s house. It was a miracle that anyone would take on the challenge of wrangling all the ninja. Zane was pretty sure it was a relative of Jay’s, though he hadn’t spent enough time with the whole group that for sure. He’d been doing a lot of reading, alone. Maybe his loneliness was partially his own fault. 

“We- I don’t want you to feel left out or… alone.”

“Sure, Cole.”

“Is there something… do you…” Cole heaved a sigh, not sure what he wanted to say. He stepped in front of Zane and wrapped him in a hug. Zane reciprocated with a moment’s hesitation, not sure what it was supposed to mean. Cole also seemed tense, his grip almost crushing. “I can feel you pulling away… but I don’t want you to drift any further from me than you already have.” Zane sighed, feeling content for the first time in a while, just in Cole’s arms. Cole had always been a physical person, but this felt different. It  _ felt  _ communicative. 

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, probably just a couple of minutes. Cole relaxed a little, the slight tremble in his shoulders went away. Zane was worried that if he let go first his contentedness would disappear. Still, he spoke up. 

“Cole, you know if you let go I’ll still be here, right?” There was a slight smile in his voice. 

“I know. I just like feeling- or, uh- knowing that you’re here. I want you to know that I’m here too.” 

“I know you’re here, and I appreciate that.” A pause. “This walk wasn’t some way to get me to cook dinner was it?” Zane could feel Cole’s smile. He finally let go of the robot. 

“No… but if you’re feeling inspired I wouldn’t discourage you.” Zane looped his arm through Cole’s once again, pressing himself a little closer this time. They resumed their walk. “I’ve always liked Christmas, but maybe that’s just nostalgia from when I was a kid. Memories of better- or I guess easier times.” The thought didn’t feel complete so Zane remained silent. “My clearest memories of my mom were around Christmas. I remember she would help my dad cook, and she’d sing low and offkey, while my dad sang the high parts of songs.” There was a distant look on Cole’s face accompanied by a small smile. Zane watched him talk in profile. He took a deep breath. “Yup, I still miss her.” 

They approached a frozen lake and a bridge that crossed over it. 

“I don’t have any memories associated with the holiday season. I don’t think my father even had a calendar. He could probably figure out the time of year by the sun’s position but, for what purpose?” They stopped to look at the frozen lake. 

“Have the others noticed, or rather, have they expressed concern at my isolation?” 

“No…” Cole glanced at Zane, processing how that sounded. “ Um, well actually, they have but mostly in passing. I think they're definitely worried about you even if they don't exactly know why?” He looked at Zane again to gauge his reaction. 

“Is that so?” It wasn't clear to either of them if Zane was disappointed or relieved. 

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, yeah so I wrote this around Christmas time and it doesn't feel like enough to post on its own but I'm telling myself I'll post another chapter so, only god knows what'll happen.
> 
> Also don't ask me why the formatting is always different fhewoifhrig I'm lazy


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